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Hulk Maki With Spicy Mayo (Healthy Sugar Free Sushi Rolls!)

Finally a recipe that's equally as delicious as it is healthy. Made sugar free and naturally colored with Spirulina. It's a powerfood for your soul! Allergy friendly. Gluten free. Can be made allergy free by omitting the cooked shrimp. Enjoy!

My husband and I used to always find a reason to go out for a bit of sushi. And by a bit I mean a ton. They’re so small you don’t realize how much you’ve eaten until you get up and suddenly the only thing you want to do is undo that damn pant button! Except you can’t because you’re in a public place and doing so is {probably} highly frowned-upon.

The struggle is real, my friends!

When I learned that sushi has sugar in it, however, our cravings for these cute rolls ended. Not gonna blame a foodie friend who shared his amazing recipe for Avocado Mango Sushi with us… but thanks to him I swore off going out for sushi. Actually, it’s also thanks to him that I appreciate making my own rolls at home where I know exactly what’s in them, how they’re made, and the quality of the ingredients used.

Despite all the good that comes from making your own sushi, I still wasn’t happy with the sugar part to make the sticky rice. Yes homemade sushi is so good and way better than eating it out, but it wasn’t good enough for this chick. I always had it in the back of my head that I was going to make a sugar free sushi roll some day.

Fast forward to today, I give you the best and healthiest sugar free, naturally sweetened sushi!

I called them Hulk Maki Rolls because well, they remind me of The Incredible Hulk, with his super buff and strong physique, green colored body, and black hair. My Maki rolls are the food version of The Hulk! They’re mean and green thanks to powerful Spirulina and they’re looooaded with protein. If you’re allergic to crustaceans, then either sub the cooked shrimp for more cucumber or another vegetable like carrots.

If you haven’t heard of Spirulina, you’re missing out on its health benefits!

Spirulina is a blue-green algae usually sold in powder form. I’ve been using it to make foods for my kids like pancakes and waffles, and they absolutely love the green. Truthfully, I think that’s all they care about because obviously kids don’t pay attention to nutritional values of foods… they just want what they’re eating to taste good!

Click here to learn more about Spirulina and to see if it’s right for you.

The only thing is you’re gonna have to get over the smell – it’s a bit foul smelling. Well, it smells like seaweed which is what it is! I don’t mind it though, I love anything natural :)

Because of its distinct seaweed/ocean-y smell, it works perfectly in this recipe. It adds another layer of flavor; when you think to yourself “there’s a delicious something – I can’t put my finger on it” – it’s the Spirulina ;) Keep the secret between us though, k?

Fair warning, it’s a bit pricey… but worth it!

Having said that, if it’s hard to find Spirulina in your area or you’d rather use something else to color your rice because you want to make these sushi rolls now (totally understandable), then I’ve got you covered! I found this video on YouTube that shows you how to color rice naturally.

Now back to these bad boys!!

These Hulk Maki Sushi are going to become a favorite with your family and friends. They’re so easy to make – you’ll feel confident in your sushi-making abilities, I promise :) They’re loaded with protein and good-for-you ingredients, vitamins and minerals, plus they’re green and their bite-size portions make them the perfect finger food for any occasion. Parties, St. Patrick’s Day, birthdays, and absolutely everyday!

And I didn’t even get to the best part: they’re sugar freeeeeee!!! That’s right, these makis are naturally sweetened using honey! Here’s to eating guilt free :D

Can we take a moment and talk about the Spicy Mayo too!?

It’s going to knock your socks off! Not crazy spicy but just enough kick to savour every morsel of these Hulk Maki Sushi. Simply made using vegan mayo (link to the brand I buy in the recipe card) as the base and a dash of this and that to make the potion perfect ;) Your taste buds are going to love it.

These incredibly delicious and healthy Hulk Maki Sushi are free from:

dairy

egg

peanut

tree nuts

wheat/gluten

fish

soy

artificial dyes

sugar

Hope you love making the Hulk Maki Rolls and eating them as much as we do! I have to say that this might not appeal to your kids if they’re not fans of nori (the seaweed sheets) like my kids. They loved the rice and the stuffing but that’s about it lol.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think by dropping me a line here and/or on my social media pages! Oh and please please please don’t forget to rate the recipes that you make because this helps Google find me ;) and I’m trying to get its attention!

Hulk Maki with Spicy Mayo (Healthy Sugar Free Sushi Rolls!)

Finally a recipe that's equally as delicious as it is healthy. Made sugar free and naturally colored with Spirulina. It's a powerfood for your soul! Allergy friendly. Gluten free. Can be made allergy free by omitting the cooked shrimp. Enjoy!

Prep Time20mins

Cook Time20mins

Resting time10mins

Total Time40mins

Course: Appetizer, lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Servings: 24pieces*

Calories: 260kcal

Author: Laila Sbeinati

Ingredients

Naturally Sweetened Sticky Rice

1Cshort grain rice- not cooked, rinse well under cold water until water runs clear

Spicy Mayo

1/4 CPlus 2 TbspVegenaise,or vegan mayo of choice

1Tspsriracha sauce

1/4Tsp Tamari sauce

Pinchsmoked paprika

Instructions

Naturally Sweetened Sticky Rice

Using a pot or saucepan, add rice and water and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts boiling, cover and reduce heat to low and allow to cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and leave covered for 5-10 minutes. Allow rice to cool at least just enough to safely handle without burning yourself.

When rice is ready to use, in a separate small saucepan, heat together honey, vinegar, oil, and salt, stirring constantly until honey melts. Remove from heat.

Place rice in a glass or wood bowl (anything but metal because it alters the taste - not good!) and add the honey mix. Using a spoon or fork, gently and briskly stir the rice until ingredients are fully incorporated. Your rice is ready!

The Set Up

Have all your ingredients ready along with a bowl with cold water and your bamboo mat beside you.

Using the bamboo mat, place nori sheet rough side up and taking a handful of rice, spread it in a thin even layer, leaving about 1" on the end that's away from you. Dip your hands in the water to help prevent rice from sticking to you and ease the spreading on the nori. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds then taking the empty (no-rice) end, gently pick up the nori sheet and turn it over so that the rice is now at the bottom and the empty end is facing you.

Arrange cucumbers in an even row roughly in the middle but a bit closer to you. Place shrimp beside the cucumber and finally arrange sliced avocados on top.

Next, using the bamboo mat, gently but firmly begin to roll the nori and when you get to the filling (the veggies and shrimp), try to tuck the nori under as you continue to gently roll your sushi. If you need to stop and adjust the tightness go ahead. Continue rolling and using the bamboo mat as a guide. Once sushi is completely rolled up, remove mat from underneath rolled sushi, place it on top of sushi and carefully apply some even pressure across the entire roll to help shape and further tighten the maki.

Repeat steps above until all of the rice is used up.

Using a sharp knife, cut even pieces using a see-saw motion. Place on serving plate and serve immediately alone or with the spicy mayo. Otherwise refrigerate in a lidded container.

Spicy Mayo

Place your ingredients in a bowl and whisk by hand until fully combined. Serve with Hulk Maki Rolls or anything else!

Notes

Depending on whether you cut your nori sheets in half or use them whole, this recipe will yield up to 24 "beefy" rolls using whole sheets, and up to 56 smaller rolls. Pics below for visual reference.

larger sushi roll using whole sheets

Smaller sushi roll using half sheets

Cutting the nori sheets in half will give you more sushi and it might help with getting a tighter more controlled roll. You'll need an additional half sheet of nori to use up all the rice. So you'll need 3 1/2 nori sheets which will total to 7 half sheets.

If you don't achieve a nice tight roll when you make it, don't fret! It takes lots of practice to get it just right... I'm still working on the technique myself :) the most important thing is the taste. And this recipe is 100% tasty!

To make this recipe vegan, replace honey with sugar (no longer sugar free though), and sub the shrimp for carrots or more cucumber. I've never tried agave but if you want to give it a try let me know how it turns out for you!

Sushi is best enjoyed fresh. However, it can be stored in a lidded container in the fridge for up to 3 days or so.